Blackheads start appearing during puberty, when hormonal activity (particularly the overproduction of testosterone) can encourage excess production of sebum, the body's naturally occurring moisturiser. Though sebum has an important part to play in the natural regulation of your body's chemistry, in excess it can block up your pores, trap dead cells and lead to acne and blemishes. A blocked pore is the perfect environment for bacteria to grow - warm and airtight - so you want to get rid of the blockage before your pore becomes infected. Blemishes are not only isolated to the face: 60% of people will also suffer acne on their backs and 15% get blemishes on their chests. Men are more susceptible than women because our skin is more oily and our pores are larger.

Wherever sebum can build up, blackheads can form. This can be your chin, your forehead, the sides of your nostrils, anywhere. Very oily skin may also develop blackheads on the cheeks and the tip of the nose, as well as chest and back. The black-ish dot which you can see is a small lump of solidified sebum that blocking your pore and causing a blemish. If untreated the blackhead will build up until it stretches the pore permanently. Blackheads become whiteheads once infection sets in and white blood cells - the pus which gives the whitehead its name - rush in tackle it. It is essential to take care of blackheads as soon as they develop.

There are ways  to tackle blackheads. If a blackhead is large, uninfected and fairly close to the surface of the skin you can engage extract it yourself:

1. Have a hot shower or hold your face over a bowl of steaming water in order to soften the skin and open up your pores.


2. Now here's the best bit. Form pads around your fingers with tissue and gently push until it pops out - don't overdo it though, as too much pushing can damage the skin and lead to permanent blemishes and scarring.


3. You don't want any bacteria entering the open pore, so apply an antiseptic soothing cream or cooling moisturiser.


4. This treatment should form part of a regular skincare regime. Use a facial wash every day and twice a week use a facial scrub to help shift pore clogging debris and dead cells.

Be careful not to get too carried away when it comes to the cleaning, though. Scrubbing your face too often can also cause all sorts of problems: not least an increased risk of blackheads and blemishes as your body produces more sebum to replace that which you have removed. It isn't true that removing a blackhead causes more to develop, but excessive poking and prodding of the epidermis can lead to increased sebum production and thus an even greater risk of blemishes and blackheads forming. Over enthusiastic squeezing can be counterproductive to say the least.

Oil based make-ups are a common cause of acne, blemishes and blackheads in women. While that obviously isn't such an issue amongst men, any New Romantics, professional clowns or cross dressers should take note. Extra vigilance in skincare is advised.